Currently, there are no AODA education standards. However, two AODA standards development committees have drafted recommendations of guidelines that AODA education standards should include. One committee has recommended guidelines for the kindergarten to grade twelve (K-12) education system. In contrast, the other committee has recommended guidelines for the university and college education system. In this article, we outline the Postsecondary Committee’s recommendations for improving physical accessibility in college and university.
The committee’s mandate from the Ontario government requires recommendations focused on publicly-funded colleges and universities. However, students and educators with disabilities also face barriers in other education settings, including:
- Privately-funded colleges and universities
- Transitional job training programs
Therefore, all these settings should comply with the forthcoming postsecondary education standards.
Improving Physical Accessibility in College and University
The Committee recommends that the Ontario government should develop, and require compliance with, minimum standards for physical accessibility in colleges and universities, including in:
- Learning areas, such as:
- Classrooms
- Libraries
- Residences
- Common areas
- Recreational areas
- Health services
- Areas for hosting ceremonies or civic engagement
The standards should incorporate technical requirements from the:
- Design of Public Spaces Standards under the AODA
- OCADU Facility Accessibility Design Standards, 2017
- Checklist for Making Science Labs Accessible for Students with Disabilities, 2014
- CNIB Clearing Our Path Guidelines
In addition, the standards should meet the accessibility needs of students, staff, and visitors with:
- Service animals
- Neurodiversity
- Environmental sensitivities, such as to:
- Air quality
- Chemicals
- Noise
- Light
- Mental illness
People with lived experience of these disabilities should help the government design the standards. Moreover, colleges and universities should use these standards when they build, redesign, or renovate spaces. For example, proposals for building or renovation should comply with the standards. Accessible design consultants should audit potential construction projects to confirm compliance, and report their findings.
Likewise, when colleges and universities hire contractors, venders, or independent agents, compliance with the standards should be part of:
- Tender
- Contracting
- Project management
- Feedback
- Approvals
- Performance assessments
Finally, the government should fund, and create financial incentives for donations to, building projects compliant with the standards.
Accessibility in Third-Party Buildings and Spaces
Similarly, any third-party space that a college or university uses or leases should also comply with the standards. In other words, if a school uses a building or space that another organization owns, manages, or operates, that organization must also comply. For example, organizations should host experiential learning placements in compliant locations. If a building or space is not compliant with the standards, a college or university should not use it. However, a college or university can work with a third-party organization to improve the accessibility of its buildings and spaces. For example, the government, colleges, and universities should create tools to audit the accessibility of experiential learning sites. Moreover, the government should provide funding for these facilities to upgrade their accessibility according to the audit results.
Furthermore, the government should create guidelines to support third-party organizations in auditing and improving their physical accessibility. The government should work with Colleges Ontario, and the Council of Ontario Universities, to develop these guidelines. The guidelines should designate staff within third-party organizations who would be responsible for complying with the standards. Finally, guidelines should include ways of resolving any disputes within organizations, or between organizations and schools, about the accessibility of spaces.
Accommodations to Mitigate Physical Barriers
Colleges and universities should install signage notifying people about accessible ways to navigate campus. Likewise, guides giving campus tours should also point out these features to prospective students and other visitors. Similarly, colleges and universities should include accessibility features in all maps and other methods of wayfinding, such as:
- Outdoor and indoor maps
- Online campus maps
- Temporary or emergency signs
Colleges and universities should also notify the public of temporary service disruptions that involve physical barriers. Likewise, colleges and universities should identify any physical barriers that they cannot remove, due to legal, geographic, or technical limits. Colleges and universities should then find ways to accommodate students, staff, and visitors, to prevent these barriers. Moreover, colleges and universities should alert the public that they can arrange accommodations.
Training for Architects
Furthermore, the government should develop online and in-person training for all architects and interior designers on how to create structures and spaces that comply with the standards. For instance, professionals who should receive accessibility training include current and future graduates of the:
- Ontario Association of Architects
- Royal Architectural Institute of Canada
- Ontario Association of Landscape Architects
- Canadian Society of Landscape Architects
- Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario
All these organizations should work with the government to develop this training, so that students and currently certified professionals learn to use inclusive design principles. Moreover, architects should provide proof of completing this training before a college or university can hire them.